Best Mid-Range Laptops For Video Editing

Best Laptops for Video Editing

Top Pick: Dell Inspiron 15 3511

One of the best laptops for video editing available at a price of $639 (as I write this article), the Dell Inspiron 15 3511 is my top pick on this list. A full HD touchscreen display, the latest i5 processor, 1TB SSD, and long battery life make it my favorite choice for the top post. So if this price sounds very reasonable to you, then this laptop could be your best bet for the job.

The Dell Inspiron 15 3511 is a 15.6” laptop with a full HD Anti-glare LED backlight touchscreen display. It is powered by the Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor with 4 Cores and 8 Threads and runs on 32GB DDR4 memory. The best part of this laptop is its super fast 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD that allows for the smoother transfer of data and fast bootup. With that big storage and faster speed, you don’t have to worry about storing bigger video files or flawless rendering.

Other than that, you get built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, one HDMI 1.4 port, one Headphone and Microphone jack, an HD webcam with the camera shutter, an SD Card reader, one USB-A 2.0 port, and two USB-A 3.2 ports. Also, it is based on the latest Windows 11 Home operating system.

Overall, the Dell Inspiron 15 3511 is a powerful laptop with lots of impressive features. Though it might not have a dedicated graphics card, its integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics is powerful enough to handle 1080p video editing by itself.

Best in AMD: Lenovo IdeaPad 14

Costing only $10 less than the top pick, Dell Inspiron 15, the Lenovo Ideapad 14 is loaded with similar features but with less RAM memory and a smaller screen size. So if a smaller screen size doesn’t matter to you, you can consider buying this laptop.

The Lenovo Ideapad 14 is a 14” laptop with a full HD Anti-glare IPS LED display. It is powered by the AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor with 6 Cores and 12 Threads and runs on 20GB DDR4 memory. Just like the Dell Inspiron 15, it also comes with a super fast 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD to store your large files and photos. One thing that the top pick lacked was a backlit keyboard. Thankfully, this laptop has a full-size backlit keyboard so you can carry out your task even when the lights are off.

Apart from that, you also get built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, one HDMI 1.4b port, one Headphone and Microphone jack, a 720p webcam with privacy shutter, an SD Card reader, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, and one USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port. It is based on the latest Windows 11 Home operating system. That said, if you prefer AMD processors over Intel and a 14” screen size doesn’t bother you, this laptop is definitely worth a purchase. Not to mention, AMD processors have much more powerful integrated graphics cards as compared to Intel. So you might get an edge over that.

Best in 17”: ASUS TUF Gaming F17

Since we have considered a smaller 14” inch laptop, why not look for some bigger screen-sized laptops? And for that, I have found the best 17” laptop with a powerful processor, a dedicated graphics card, 144Hz refresh rate, and sturdy build quality. And it’s none other than the ASUS TUF Gaming F17.

The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is a 17.3” laptop with a full HD 144Hz IPS LED display. As the name suggests, it has a sturdy design based on a durable MIL-STD-810H military standard construction. It is powered by the Intel Core i5-11400H processor with 6 Cores and 12 Threads and runs on 8GB DDR4 memory. With a 512GB PCIe SSD for storage, the laptop also comes with a dedicated RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6 graphics card. Thanks to the dedicated GPU, you can even play AAA titles apart from video editing, in your free time.

Other features include built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, one HDMI 2.0b port, one Headphone, and Microphone jack, a 720p HD webcam, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and one Thunderbolt 4 that supports DisplayPort. It also includes a backlit chiclet keyboard and runs on Windows 11 Home.

Summing up, the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is the best 17” laptop for video editing. Though the RAM memory is a little less, you can upgrade it if you need. Do note that being a TUF series laptop, it might be heavier and bigger in size.

Value for Money: HP Pavilion 14

All the above laptops we talked about are loaded with impressive features but also cost more than $600 to buy. If you are someone who can’t spend more than $500 on a laptop, you can check out the HP Pavilion 14.

The HP Pavilion 14 is a 14” laptop with a full HD Anti-glare LED display. It is powered by the Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor with 2 Cores and 4 Threads and runs on 16GB DDR4 memory. Though it doesn’t have a dedicated graphics card, the processor is good enough to handle 1080p video editing. It comes with a 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD so you don’t have to worry about fast bootup and faster data transfer.

You also get built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, one HDMI port, one Headphone and Microphone jack, a 720p webcam, a fingerprint reader, an SD Card reader, one USB Type-C port, and two USB Type-A ports. Though it is based on Windows 10 Home, you can easily upgrade it to Windows 11 once you get your hands on it.

So if you are looking for a true value-for-money laptop with all the necessary features at a reasonable price, I would recommend you the HP Pavilion 14.

Budget: Dell Inspiron 15 3511 (i3 Version)

While it’s obvious that expensive laptops can easily handle the video editing task, thanks to their powerful processor and bigger RAM memory, budget laptops can also do their part well unless you are not expecting to edit 4K videos. That said, if your budget is below $400, then the Dell Inspiron 15 3511 can be your best bet.

The Dell Inspiron 15 3511 is a 15.6” laptop with a full HD Anti-glare LED display. It is powered by the Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor with 2 Cores and 4 Threads and runs on 8GB DDR4 memory. The processor is paired with a 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. It has built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, one HDMI port, one Headphone, and Microphone jack, a webcam, an SD Card reader, and multiple USB ports.

Though the laptop doesn’t seem powerful enough for video editing tasks, considering the price, there’s nothing much you can complain about. But I am sure this laptop can handle basic editing pretty well with no ifs and buts. So people with tight budgets can consider buying this laptop.

The Takeaway

This completes the list of the 5 best mid-range laptops for video editing. There’s no doubt video editing is graphics-related work and requires a powerful system to continue its smooth rendering. But this is required only in case you are a professional video editor.

For content creators, who just want to edit their YouTube videos or Instagram Reels, you don’t need that kind of power. Hence, the laptops above can do their job perfectly. You can pick any one of them depending on your preference and budget.

Anyways, of course my overall best pick is the Dell Inspiron 15 3511, but the beefed up version (i5 version), not to be mistaken with our budget pick, the Dell Inspiron 15 3511 (i3 Version).

ALSO READ: 15.6″ VS 17.3″ Laptop: Which Makes More Sense?